Adams calls his dining hours of 5:30 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays a soft opening. He’s working with a limited menu of three appetizers, three entrees and two desserts and can only host 30 diners a night.

He plans to expand hours to Wednesday through Saturday nights later in the summer. The number of diners can increase, too, when he gets tables for the Sun Inn’s large outdoor patio, which he says will be the chief dining room throughout the summer.

Adams, a Bethlehem resident, said he believes the 254-year-old Sun Inn is the perfect location for his next restaurant venture.

“It’s hard to find a building that’s this unique,” he said.

The Sun Inn also is glad to have him. The organization has been interested in reopening a restaurant since the inn’s last restaurateur left about seven years ago, said Bucky Szulborski, the innkeeper and board secretary for the Sun Inn Preservation Association.

“We’re glad to have some life back into the inn,” he said. “It also generates revenue to help preserve the building.”

Adams is still seeking a liquor license he had called key to switching from catering to a regular restaurant. The restaurant will open as a BYOB in the meantime. Adams said he didn’t want to let the inn’s sizable patio go unused for another summer.

Adams so far has been offering a high-end menu, with $10 appetizers and $25 entrees. He said he plans to also offer mid-range fare on the patio and during Musikfest, when the restaurant will be open all 10 days.

But whether it’s a $10 poached duck egg appetizer or a $10 hamburger, Adams plans to use locally grown and raised ingredients.

“My focus is local. I don’t know any other way,” he said.

City officials have been eagerly awaiting the reopening of the inn’s restaurant. Main Street restaurants — especially those with outdoor dining areas — are major draws in Bethlehem, said Samantha Schwartz, manager of the Downtown Bethlehem Association.